For our last day with Mama Noume, she had one final idea. She and her fosters live in the same building as the workshop, but there weren't any doors separating work from home. Just something as simple as a door to separate the workshop and the living quarters goes a long way toward building in a little privacy. We got right to work installing doors throughout the house, sectioning off the main sewing room from her bedroom. We also installed another door in the front of the house and one in the back. These are strong metal barriers that will last - and are also much more safe. What a ride it's been with Mama Noume! She let us into her home, shared her ideas with us, and let us join in on her journey to making Nakivale a better place to be, for everyone. Thank you for all you do Mama Noume! You're a true changemaker. … [Read more...] about Open Doors

Even a new coat of paint can bring a lot of joy. It can make a room feel totally different. Today, we're bringing a little of that joy to the inside and outside of Mama Noume's home. There is nothing wrong with a brown house - but we wanted Mama Noume’s house to feel totally new. Having a refreshed space can lift your spirits, and the young mothers she takes in could use that lift. We repainted the outside of the house and painted the entire interior. It wasn’t too flashy that it stuck out, but it just felt more buttoned up and clean. The interior walls used to be cracked and falling apart. Now they're flawless and beautiful, just as they deserve! Tomorrow is our last day of the renovation. Stop by to see the finishing touches! … [Read more...] about Feeling Fresh

One of the ways Mama Noume impresses us most is her business of selling sustainable sanitary pads. Today, we'll be working to make her business take off even more. Her idea? A supplies refresh. Mama Noume teaches sewing using the materials for the pads. They're are a great way for the girls to learn - not to mention a source of income once they're finished. With the expansion of the house and new sewing machines, Mama Noume can take in more students - but she won’t have more supplies. Because we're in the business of solving problems and not creating them, we wanted to help out with more materials! When the new students come, they won't put a stress on the existing supplies this mama has been able to collect. More materials means more pads and more pads equal more income! This is the kind of trend we like to see. … [Read more...] about More to Work With

Mama Noume’s new place was looking incredible! Totally new structure, solar power, and more sewing machines! It has turned into quite the bustling place! Inside the house is where all of the fancy fabrics used to make clothes and reusable sanitary pads are kept. Currently, Mama Noume has a dirt floor which is hard to keep clean and causes some of the fabrics to get damaged. We came up with a solution - a concrete floor. This floor will keep things clean. It's also a lasting solution, laying a new foundation for Mama Noume and her kids. Now that the building was going to be much cleaner, we had the perfect thing to help give it another little boost...Tomorrow, we're going to the market and coming back with something that will keep things rolling! … [Read more...] about Solid as a Rock

With new sewing machines ready to go, Mama Noume had another idea. “When the sun goes down work has to stop,” she told us. But what if it didn’t? With a new house, we thought it should come with something else - solar power. The sun is bright in Nakivale Refugee Settlement. It's a reliable resource that can be put to work powering Mama Noume's lights and machines. With solar lights, the work doesn’t have to stop once the sun goes down! This will allow her students to be able to learn much faster and work more precisely. Even during the daytime, the house can be dark. Having steady light gives their eyes a rest so they don't have to squint to see what they're doing. Mama Noume is bringing light to her community, so we wanted to bring light to her house! Thank you for serving with passion Mama Noume! … [Read more...] about Flipping a Switch

Yesterday, we started out on our journey to make Mama Naoume's house into a home! We had set out to fix just the roof, but in the process discovered that fixing the roof could ruin the structural integrity of the house. So we cut out the middle man and knocked the house flat. If it's not safe for her and her kids, it just isn’t good enough! After knocking down the house and rebuilding the walls, we set out to do what we had originally planned. A new roof! This new roof was made of metal sheeting - it's long lasting and doesn't leak. Mama Noume's house is now safe from storms - and the sewing projects and fabric inside can stay in great condition. Tomorrow, we're turning our attention to what's happening under Mama Noume's new roof... … [Read more...] about Raise the Roof

Over the next week, we'll be undertaking a project near and dear to the whole team’s heart. Mama Naoume, who we've met before, takes in young single mothers and teaches them to sew. Ever since we met her she has stolen our hearts with her kindness and self-sacrifice. Mama Noume had an idea for her house that shelters so many - a new roof. Why? The roof leaked, and when it did, it ruined the fabrics and sewing projects she and her foster kids were working on. We thought, a new roof? That's doable! We called a contractor to look over the roof and he had bad news. “If we change the roof, the house may fall,” he said. So we thought about it and looked over what needed to be done. It was then that we knew what we could do... We decided to to redo EVERYTHING! In eight steps, we'll knock down the whole house and rebuild again. Step one? Tearing down the house! It was demolished! Everything must go! Once all the debris was cleared away, walls and a foundation set … [Read more...] about Tearing Down the Walls

In Nakivale Refugee Settlement, we try lots of new programs. But we can't do it alone. Monica works for the Ugandan Office of the Prime Minister, and she oversees all of Nakivale. She's open, kind, and generous with her time. She's an invaluable resource for ARC, helping us address the needs of the people of NAkivale. She comes and speaks at ARC events and most importantly, she is a woman of action. When you want her to give you feedback, she will hop in a car and go see it for herself. Monica doesn’t stand in the way of progress, she welcomes it. Since all of her work is in the settlement, Monica lives there too. And as we spent time with he, we noticed that she had no furniture in her office or home. That didn't fee right. So we set out to do a little interior design... We found a great sofa and love seat combo that we thought would make the place feel just a little more like home! It's important for someone like Monica - who's always on the go - to have a … [Read more...] about A Woman of Action